![BRITAIN-SCOTLAND-POLITICS-SNP
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf reacts after delivering a speech on stage during the Scottish National Party (SNP) annual conference, in Aberdeen, on October 17, 2023. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)](https://www.oann.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/GettyImages-1730327235.webp)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:57 PM – Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced that the country is welcoming refugees from Gaza amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
Yusaf announced on Wednesday that Scotland is ready to offer asylum to the people of Gaza who have been displaced in the ongoing conflict.
He made the announcement on X (Twitter) emphasizing that they are willing to be a place of sanctuary for misplaced victims.
“The people of Gaza are a proud people. Many don’t want to leave, and shouldn’t have to. But for those displaced, who want to leave, there should be a worldwide refugee scheme. Scotland is willing to be a place of sanctuary and be the first country to take those refugees,” he said.
Yousaf also urged countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. to welcome Gaza refugees.
“Let’s say that Scotland will be a place of sanctuary for them as we have shown kindness and compassion for others. Let us show it once again and this time for the people of Gaza,” Yousaf said. “And Scotland is willing to be the first country in the U.K. to take those refugees.”
In another video that Yousaf posted to X, he said that Scotland’s hospitals would care for people in Gaza who have been injured in the war.
The first minister asserted that he is now calling on the U.K. government to “begin work on the creation of a refugee resettlement scheme for those in Gaza who want to, and of course are able to, leave.”
He also mentioned that some of his own relatives were stranded in Gaza while expressing his country’s willingness to welcome Palestinian refugees.
Yousaf went on to say that Israel has the right to defend itself, but that it is inflicting collective punishment in Gaza, which is illegal under international law.
Several Democrat legislators have recently urged President Biden to push Israel into protecting innocent Gaza residents following a recent explosion in a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds.
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